Philip then gets the chance to explain this scripture to the man. This man was already seeking God guidance and reading the Word of God. This was not a man who was off somewhere else worried about all of the other things in life that he could have been worried about. He was spending his time studying God's word and fulfilling God's Word in Joshua 1:8 telling us to study the Word of God day and night. Because of this God sent Philip to him and the end of the story gets even better.
As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look there is some water! Why can't I be baptized?" "You can," Philip answered," If you believe with all you heart." And the eunuch replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
The eunuch was brought into the truth because he read God's word and truly honored God in his reading. Image what would have happened to the eunuch had he been worry about just reading the scriptures and not hearing from God. He may have sent Philip away and would not have received Jesus Christ into his life.
Other than that example, Jesus himself gives us many other clues to unlocking this riddle.
Jesus told them, "If God was your father; you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own will but He sent me. Why can't you understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to do so. For you are the children of your father the Devil and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and he had always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth you just naturally don't believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling to truth, why don't you believe me? Anyone who Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don't it proves you are not God's children (John 8:31-47).
Jesus plainly says that if you are a child of the devil then you will not hear from God! You cannot hear from God because you are not on his side. A man can no hear from heaven when he is listening to hell.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" "Well," they replied," some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied," You are blessed, Simon son of Johan, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being (Matthew 16:13-17)."
Here God had opened Peter's eyes to see the truth because Peter had taken the time to seek out God and spent his time following Jesus. Peter was hearing because he was on God's side.
Then the rich man said," Please, Father Abraham, send him to my father's home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won't have to come here when they die." But Abraham said, "Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to." The rich man replied, "No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins." But Abraham said, "If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead (Luke16:27-31)."
The Bible does not say that this rich man was a Jew or a Gentile, but what it does tell us is that his bothers had access to the Old Testament and that in their reading of that, at their own choosing, they could escape the torments of Hades and be carried off by the angles into Abraham's bosom the same way Lazarus was earlier in the story. Abraham says that not by seeing a dead person, or any other means, will they change their hearts, but buy God's word will they find salvation. Why is that? Why would not a dead person or something as great as that cause a man to become saved?
